German musicians: present tense open questions, word order
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can ask and answer open questions about German musicians using flexible word order, and I can complete extended activities describing a favourite person in the present tense.
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- Open questions start with a question word (e.g., 'wo', 'wie', 'warum') and use verb-subject word order.
- It’s important to be very confident with question words to understand information and ask questions.
- German sentences can start with any other element (other than the subject) to emphasise it and then the verb second.
- Present tense verbs plus the adverb 'gern' (gladly) say what we like doing. As all adverbs, it can start a sentence.
Keywords
Open question - question starting with a wh- word that has more information in the answer than yes/no
Word order two (WO2) - inverts the subject and verb in a sentence; any element can appear at the start of a German sentence to trigger this inversion
Gern - adverb meaning 'gladly', 'like to'
Common misconception
German and English word order are the same.
English mostly uses subject-verb word order and time phrases appear most naturally at the end of phrases. German word order is much more variable. Any element (subject, object, time-manner-location adverb) can start a German sentence.
Teacher tip
The German music scene is well worth exploring further. Teachers may want to direct students to find out more about one of the singers or bands featured in this lesson or steer them towards their own favourite German-speaking musicians.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which are adverbs of manner?
Q2.Match the German and English.
evening
story, history
guitar
culture
song
destination, goal
Q3.Match the German and English.
to describe, describing
to reach, achieve
to live, living
to mix, mixing
to talk, talking
to lose, losing
Q4.Order the words to say: 'I am afraid of animals, especially cats.'
Q5.Write in English: 'es ist ein einfaches Spiel'.
Q6.Write in German: 'I do my homework'.
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.Match up the sentence halves.
alt bist du?
hast du Geburtstag?
lernst du Englisch?
wohnst du?
Bücher kaufst du?
hast du gesagt?
Q2.Order the words to form a sentence. Emphasise the adverb of time.
Q3.Write in English: 'ich benutze gern mein Handy'.
Q4.Write in German: 'I like swimming'. Use an adverb.
To help you plan your 9 German lesson on: German musicians: present tense open questions, word order, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 German lesson on: German musicians: present tense open questions, word order, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 German lessons from the Modern lives and tall tales: present tense unit, dive into the full secondary German curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.